Egypt's Mubarak sentenced to life in prison

An Egyptian judge has convicted former president Hosni Mubarak
of complicity in the killings of protesters during the uprising
that ended his 30-year rule and sentenced him to life in
prison.

It was the first time a deposed Arab leader had faced an
ordinary court in person since a wave of uprisings shook the Arab
world last year, sweeping away four entrenched rulers.

The ruling came at a politically fraught time for Egypt, two
weeks before a run-off in its first free presidential election that
will pit the Muslim Brotherhood, which was banned under Mubarak,
against the deposed autocrat's last prime minister.

Mubarak, propped up on a hospital stretcher and wearing dark
sunglasses, heard the verdict with a stony expression. He had been
wheeled into the cage used in Egyptian courtrooms, while the other
defendants stood.

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Demonstrators outside the court, many of whom had been demanding
the death penalty for Mubarak, greeted the verdict with fireworks
and cries of "Allahu akbar (God is great)".

Soha Saeed, the wife of one of about 850 people killed in the
street revolt that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11, 2011, shouted: "I'm
so happy. I'm so happy."

Some people inside the court who had wanted a death sentence
scuffled with guards, decrying the Mubarak-era judiciary. "The
people want the judiciary cleansed!" they chanted.

One man held up a sign calling for Mubarak to be executed,
others chanted for a death sentence.

Judge Ahmed Refaat opened the proceedings by calling the start
of Mubarak's trial on Aug. 3 a "historic day". He hailed Egyptians
for removing the only leader many of them had known.

"The people of Egypt woke on Tuesday, Jan. 25, to a new dawn,
hoping that they would be able to breathe fresh air ... after 30
years of deep, deep, deep darkness," he told the court.

Total silence fell over the courtroom in the moments before
Refaat announced his verdict. The crowd outside then erupted in
joy. Anti-Mubarak demonstrators and a smaller crowd of his
supporters threw stones at each other and at police.

The judge also sentenced Mubarak's former interior minister,
Habib al-Adli, to life in prison. He sentenced Mubarak's two sons
Alaa and Gamal to time already served after convicting them on some
corruption charges and acquitting them on others. Six security
officials were acquitted.